Notes on Starlit Reflections
When writing Starlit Reflections, I will
occasionally reference something outside the general knowledge of the Western
fan, or I'll come down on the side of a debate, or I'll use a well-known
quote, or... I'm sure you get the idea.
When publishing the
text version of Starlit Reflections, I placed my notes at the bottom of
the chapters. They are in chronological order.
Chapter
One: Star's Advent
At various points, various characters are referred to in the narration
by the incorrect gender. This is deliberate; as the narration reflects
each character's viewpoint, it will also reflect those character's impressions,
which are sometimes incorrect.
Back to Chapter One
I am using the anime version of the names of Tamahome's sisters. I know
they're different in Chinese and I know that the Chinese version is the
more accurate; but I like the Japanese pronunciation better, so I'm using
it instead. The spelling is from the Tomodachi fansubs.
Yes, the dream sequence in Chapter Two is different in the canon. It will
be relevant in future chapters!
Back to Chapter Two
Chapter Six: Swords And Secrets
Hot springs are often found around volcanoes and other geothermal vents
in the Earth's crust. Japan is a chain of volcanic islands, which is why
hot springs are so common there. Another phenomenon associated with geothermal
vents is natural gas emissions, which will affect those who breathe them
in various ways; some are hallucinogenic, some are psychosis-inducing,
while some are euphoric. Several 'legendary healing springs' are hot springs
that have a vent of naturally-euphoric gas within the spring or nearby.
Imperial bed-tutors - historically, Emperors of China were given specialist
instruction in all areas they were expected to be competent in - scholarship,
war, and, of course, the arts of love. Watase-sensei did say that Hotohori
was inexperienced in this area, but I have chosen to differ. It's just
not logical that he would not have been offered the instruction.
As a student of Tai Chi Chu'an, I can inform you that both Tamahome and
Hotohori fight using a modified form of it - Tamahome uses the unarmed
form, while Hotohori uses the sword form. When a skilled master performs
the forms, Tai Chi Chu'an looks like an athletic and very graceful dance.
Tamahome's style is
both familiar and unfamiliar to Hotohori because, while it is still Tai
Chi Chu'an, not only are there major differences between the sword form
and the unarmed form, both Shichiseishi have modified their fighting forms
to accomodate their Shichiseishi abilities.
Back to Chapter Six
Chapter Seven: Flame Ascendant
OL: Slang, short for the English phrase office lady. In Japan, most
female employees of companies hold positions as glorified secretaries.
This has led to the creation of a very precise social niche, with its own
social culture and expectations, large enough that major proportions of
marketing, literature and popular media are all aimed at the young women
who call themselves 'OLs'. 'OLs' have no prospect of advancement within
the company, are expected to find husbands within their first ten years
of employment and quit their jobs upon their marriage. It is not what
one would call a prestigious position.
Pomade was a type of oil manufactured from many different ingredients that
was used on the hair to keep it in a given style. It was replaced by our
modern styling gels, mousses, waxes and hairsprays. A given pomade would
scent and colour the hair, according to the formula of the pomade; many
wealthy people would create private formulae for their own personal use.
Although I personally dislike the excessive use of Japanese in fanfics,
I chose to use the Japanese word 'taichou', meaning 'leader', to indicate
Hakurou, the previous (and now deceased) leader of the bandits. This was
for two reasons:
i. Both Tasuki and Kouji had a father-son relationship with Hakurou. For
them to just call him 'Leader', although technically correct, did not carry
the emotional overtone.
ii. Hakurou has held in very high esteem by all his followers - esteem
that Eiken was not held in. It seems logical that the group would develop
two different terms for the two.
Haemorrhoids and characters: Don't blame me for this one! It's in the original!
In Japanese, the word for 'haemorrhoid' and the word for 'character' are
pronounced similarly. (And they talk about the sick jokes pathologists
make...)
Lolita Complex - the name given to the psychological condition of an adult
man who is attracted to pre-pubescent or just-pubescent girls. Men with
Lolita Complexes are also known as child molesters. The name comes from
the 1950's novel 'Lolita', about a man with this condition and no self-control.
Back to Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight: Shadows In Firelight
Sai are short swords, normally carried by ninja. Of much the same general
configuration as the Italian stiletto, a sai is designed for assassination
or extremely close fighting, and so cannot be used as a throwing knife
or in any other form of combat. Among non-assassins, it is a weapon of
last resort and self defense, as it is easily concealed and very deadly.
Sake is wine fermented from rice. It is much stronger than wine fermented
from grapes, and is usually served heated (which serves to burn off some
of the alcohol - if someone calls for cold sake, they want to get paralytically
drunk ASAP). It is usually served in very small china cups (around the
size of Italian espresso cups) and drinking etiquette requires sake be
sipped slowly.
Onigiri are balls of boiled rice, one of the simplest forms of sushi. Occasionally
a strip of cooked seaweed will be wrapped around the ball, the rice will
be lightly spiced or (if the intended recipient is a child or enjoys this
sort of thing) the cook may mould the rice into a shape and add garnishes
to add to the impression (currants for eyes and mint leaves for bunny ears,
for example).
The blue-haired monk Kouji remembers in Chapter Eight is Chichiri. He said
that line when he realized who Tasuki was; Kouji remembers it because it
struck him as a non-sequitur (Chichiri didn't tell them who he was).
It is a paraphase
of a line from 'God - The Ultimate Autobiography' by Jeremy Beadle. Specifically:
"My ways may be mysterious, My wonders to perform, but they're not bloody
stupid."
Back to Chapter Eight
I know that in canon, Yuiren is six. However, I have chosen to revise her
age upwards.
If I went by canon,
Gyoukouran would have been seven when Yuiren was born. In a family where
the mother dies in childbirth and there is a daughter of an age to tell
when water's hot and with the ability to change nappies (ie, over five),
almost invariably the daughter will become the foster mother. It is only
if the daughter is not old enough to handle those chores and there is no
other female relatives available that a male relative will take the position.
Therefore, if Tamahome
did
raise
Yuiren, Gyoukouran would have had to be less than five years older than
her sister. I hardly think a boy of eleven would have been dying to play
house (though he may have been dying to give up playing house after
the first dirty nappy).
In canon, we have no idea what So Gyoukouran was like. She exited the story
before we had any chance to get to know her. So, I cheerfully admit it:
I'm making most of her up out of whole cloth. Oh, and yes, I was very fond
of Nancy Drew when I was thirteen.
The song Kourin and Yuiren are singing in Chapter Nine is "Maiden At Her
Best" ("Otome Ranman"), Nuriko's image song from episode 28 (the recap
episode). The translation is from my Tomodachi fansubs, copyright Karen
Duffy and Yamazaki Masatomo, and is used without permission.
The song Nuriko heard Hotohori singing in Chapter Nine is part of a poeticised
version of his image song 'Boku No Uchyuu Ni Kimi Ga Ite' [Within My Universe,
There Is You]. It is based on the Geocities translation of Hotohori's Music
Crip [sic].
Something a lot of people forget (and the anime doesn't help) is that Seiryuu's
element is not actually Water. It's really Wood (or Lightning). Water belongs
to Genbu, Byakko's element is Metal, and Suzaku's attribute is Fire.
According to the notes provided by Tomodachi Anime for episode 7 of the
TV series, Sunakake Babaa is a ghost who looks like an elderly woman. People
wandering deserted city streets late at night encounter her, whereupon
she throws sand in their faces. She first appeared in the popular literature
of the 1800's, but also featured in a classic manga and anime of the 1960's.
Back to Chapter Nine
There's a small conflict between the manga and the TV series... in the
TV series, when Miaka phones Yui's place the phone is answered by Yui's
mother, thus alerting her to a potential problem; but in the manga, Yui
is a latchkey kid. She goes home to an empty house and then returns
to the library to read the book (having twigged to what happened to Miaka
a fair bit quicker than Miaka does to Yui's plight), and her parents figure
there's a problem when they arrive home to an empty house.
I've decided to combine the two
- things are happening a little faster in my version than they did in the
original Fushigi Yuugi, so I'm having Miaka make the phonecall, but before
Yui's parents get home. I'm not sure if the Hongous have an answering
machine (due to the two differing versions, the subject never comes up),
but it seems logical.
I don't believe that the capital of Koutou was ever named in the series.
The name I have chosen, "Xi'entu", is my own reconstruction of the name
"Chengdu" (also romanized as "Ch'engtu"), a major Chinese city situated
in Yunnan province in the far southwest of China. Yunnan is the area
of China directly north of Vietnam and Laos, bordering on Burma, south
of the Himalayan Mountains. Unlike more northern provinces, it is not in
the rain shadow of the Himalayas and is thus a fertile area. As the
World of the Four Gods is a fantastical version of China, it seems to me
that this area best corresponds to the probable centre of the Koutou Empire
- with slight variations, of course. ~_^
Back to Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven: Tea And Wisdom
Soi is wearing the dress she wore in the manga during the Jyousei Island
sequence.
Hands up, everyone who spotted the self-insertion.
The name is a reconstruction
of my own, via the transliteration service available at http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html
. I warn you, though - native speakers tell me that this tool is not entirely
accurate. For an accurate and appropriate interpretation of your name into
jie, you would be best served to ask a Chinese language teacher or other
native speaker.
It was a point of Chinese custom not to accept food when visiting another's
house, as it implied that you were too poor to feed yourself. At the same
time, it was most rude not to offer something to the guest. Tea appears
to have historically been the acceptable compromise.
Flowers were often added to tea in mediaeval China, for flavour.
The reason why Rokou and Nuriko have different family names is because,
in this AU, they are half-siblings. For the full story, please read Chapter
Seven, and for details of the promise Hotohori gave Rokou, please read
'An Autumn Afternoon'.
Back to Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve: Dinner And Discussion
In Ancient China, you had to be very wealthy to afford to eat meat.
It was also desirable to serve as many different dishes as possible.
Only five dishes in Ancient China was a very poor meal!
In canon, Keisuke decided to humour Miaka about the World of the Four Gods,
and then made some very off-colour jokes about Western magic. Rather
than repeat those jokes, I have decided to make Keisuke openly skeptical.
Hopefully, my altered scene is as enjoyable as the original.
Back to Chapter
Twelve
Chapter Thirteen: Finding The Path
The Western Zodiac is fairly well-known in Japan, and many manga characters
have their Western star sign listed among their characteristics - including
the Fushigi Yuugi characters.
Opium was a chronic problem in China from its first development. It became
a crisis of nationwide proportions during the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries, but the problems of addiction, illegal distribution
and criminal actions by addicts looking for their next fix were known from
before the Christian Era.
Hotohori will never come out and tell anyone that he loves them.
Chinese history and legend is full of stories of Emperors who fell in love
and who attended to their lover to the point that their empires fell apart
around them. If an Emperor ever said the fatal words "I love you", the
unfortunate receipient of his affections would find themselves dead before
sunset the next day at the hands of the Court Eunuchs. If a Chinese Emperor
fell in love, he was forced to express it by actions, gifts, and extremely
mild phrases, so that if called on it, he could deny any especial affection
and so save his lover's life.
Tetsuya's defence of his sunglasses is snitched from one of the characters
in the movie 'Weird Science'.
Back to Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen: Step By Step
There's a major difference in the manga and the anime in the length of
time it took Miaka to realize where Yui was. In the anime, she took three
hours, but in the manga, it took her twenty-four hours and a meeting with
Yui's frantic parents.
I'm going with the anime in this, because it reflects more kindly on Miaka's
personality.
Education for girls in mediaeval China was extremely limited. The lower
classes and the less wealthy did not bother to educate their daughters
at all, and while the rich and upper classes taught their daughters to
read and write, they did not give them the opportunity to do much more
than that. Schools were common but limited to boys only. Tamahome, Chuei
and Shunkei would almost certainly have been educated to a comparable standard
for their respective ages with a modern public school; Gyoukouran and Yuiren
wouldn't even be able to recognise their own names.
Chapter Fifteen: Flame Returning
'Schroedinger's Cat' is the nickname applied to Dr. Erwin Schroedinger's
Paradox of Observation of Quantum Physics Theory, and is the most accessible
and well-known of the illustrations of quantum theory and Heisenberg's
Theory of Observation.
In a locked room is
placed a vial of poison gas, a container of a radioactive substance that
has a 50% chance of emitting radiation over an hour, a mechanism that will
crush the vial if radiation is emitted, and a cat. The scientist opens
the door one hour later.
At the point where
the scientist has his hand on the door lock, there is a 50% chance he will
find a live, rather unhappy cat behind the door, and a 50% chance he will
find a rather sad corpse. At this point both possibilities exist as
realities. When he opens the door, Heisenberg's Theory of Observation
will go into effect, and the act of observing the result will cause one
possibility to become the scientist's reality and the other to collapse.
The point is that
until the scientist observes and thus makes concrete one reality, both
exist in the same space at the same time.
Persons who study
quantum physics find that there are many disputations and defences of this
paradox, but that it is one of the bases of their studies, as quantum physics
is the scientific study of our and other realities.
Although diaries in their current form are a Western concept, many
members of the courts of both China and Japan would keep accounts of their
daily lives, and these manuscripts are currently the chief source material
for research into the culture of the Oriental mediaeval period. The writers
would record poetry composed by themselves or their friends, stories, rumours,
gossip and social events. Some of these diaries have been translated and
released to the general public under various titles.
Although there is
no indication that Nuriko ever did keep a diary in the manga or
anime, there is no contradictory evidence either, and I believe that with
the sort of pressure he endured he would need an outlet. Keeping diaries
was fashionable so I believe it likely he might write one. (Although it
is
very unlikely he would ever let anyone read it!)
Back to I Knew I Loved You
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